Automatic flushing apparatus



Jail. 26 1926.

' H. DE L. MOISE AUTOMATIC FLUSHING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 24, 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 26 1926. q

H. DE L. MOISE AUTOMATIC FLUSI-IING APPARATUS m a i 4 J m 2 6 4 6. 2 Ma MM 2 4 3 32 m a GHmmemg Patented Jan. 26, 1926.

CAROLINA.

T I GE nnnlvronnn LEON atoms; or sunrise; sou-r22 oa'nonrnn, Ass/xenon; ny nrnnor' Am) mnsnn'nssrennnnrs; 'ro SUMTER sunnn srrnonco AUTOMATIC rnusnine ArrAnA'rusi To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, HAnMoN D. Moisn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sumter, in the county of Sumter, State of South Carolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Flushing Apparatus, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing and to the figures of reference marked thereon.

The invention relates to new and useful improvements in an automatic flushing apparatus, and more particularly a flushing apparatus ofthe type used for periodically flushing sewers or the like.

An object of the invention is to provide a flushing apparatus of the above type which can be placed in the usual tank designed for the manual flushing of sewers and substituted for the manually controlled flushing devices contained therein.

A further object of the invention is to provide an automatic flushing device of the siphoning type which can be placed wholly within the flushing tank, the bottom of which is substantially on the same level of the bottom of the sewer pipe to which said tank is connected.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an automatic flushing apparatus of the siphoning type wherein air confined in the air chamber of the siphon is caused to escape for starting the siphonic action and the flow of the flushing water through a blow-olf pipe independent of the flushing pipe connections.

Another object of the invention is to provide a flushing apparatus of the above type wherein the blow-oil pipe is connected to the sewer pipe and so constructed that it may be reshaped or adjusted to vary the sustained column of water necessary to start a siphonic action.

Another object of the invention is to provide an automatic siphon flushing apparatus having an intake pipe connected to an outlet pipe which is in turn connected toa sewer pipe. with a combined water and air inlet pipe discharging into the siphon and an air escape pipe connected to the siphon and dis posed so that the water may rise in the siphon intake pipe to a point below the point where the intake pipe connects with or dis- Serial :No. 510,023:

chargesinto the outlet'pipebefore the air in the slphon is confined. I

Still another object of: the? invention: is to provide an automatic siphon flushing; apparatus for a sewenpipe which is;conneicted to;

the sewer pipe by a pipe so disposed relative to'the longitudinal; center lineot the sewer, pipe as; to leave the. end of the sewer pipe tree, :trom obstruction whereby access thereto may be readily had.

These and other; objects will in part be" obvlous andzwill in part be hereinafter more fully disclosed.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a view, partly in vertical section andzpartly in perspective; of an auto% matic siphon flushing apparatus embodying my improvements;- I

Fig. 2 is a. horizontal sectional view through a-portion of thetank and through the'siphon flushing apparatus;

Fig. 3 is a view in vertical section through,

a tank and atone sideotthe siphoning apparatus, showing a slightly modified formof apparatus, certain of the" parts; being broken away to show the arrangement of thea1r escape p pe and the combined water and tion. The siphon intake pipe immediately receiving the water from the flushing tank opens downwardly, and its open end is preferably dlsposed a short distance from-the bottom of: the flushing tank so that a large proportion of'the water in the flushing tank will be siphoned into the sewer; The-flushing tank is filled by a supply pipe which discharges directly intothe siphon, and since the supply pipe is constructed so that the inflowing water'entrains airand carrig the same into the siphon, the air escape pipe is connected tothe siphon and is so disposed that the water may rise? in the MPANY, or suivrrnny sou'rir' comes the outlet pipe of the siphon.

siphon intake pipe to a point slightly below the point where the siphon intake pipe discharges into the siphon outlet pipe connected to the sewer before the air in the siphon is confined, and air continues to escape from said pipe as the water accumulates in the flushing tank until a level is reached which starts the siphonic action.

A blow-off pipe is provided which is independent of the pipe connections of the siphon to the sewer. This blow-oft pipe is preferably discharged into the sewer and is so shaped as to sustain the desired column of water before flushing takes place. By reshaping or bending the pipe, the height of the sustained column of water may be varied. The siphon pipes are connected to the sewer pipe by means of a Tshaped pipe extending at an angle-to the longitudinal center of the sewer pipe which leaves the end of the sewer pipe free and open to give ready access to the same for lighting and cleaning. The siphon connections to the sewer pipe are so arranged as to be fully above the bottom line of the sewer pipe so that they may be readily substituted for the ordinary mechanical devices heretofore used in flushing sewers without altering or reconstructing the flushing tank masonry.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, my improved flushing apparatus consists of a flushing tank 1 which may be of any desired construction. Leading into the flushing tank is a sewer pipe 2 which connects to the tank near the bottom thereof. Connected to the end of the sewer pipe is a T pipe 3, and connected to said T pipe 3 is a U pipe 4 which in turn is connected to a U pipe 5. These pipes are connected in the usual way and are so disposed as to be located to one side of the center line of the sewer pipe so that the end of the sewer pipe may be closed by a cover 6 which can be readily removed to permit the lighting of the sewer pipe and to give ready access thereto.

Connected to the pipe 5 is the outlet pipe 7 of the siphon. In the form of my invention as shown in Fig. 1, there is an intake pipe 8 which entirely surrounds the pipe 7 and which is usually referred to in the art as a bell. The intake pipe 8 is supported by the pipe 7. T his is accomplished by providing fins 8 which are formed as a part of the pipe 8. These fins are notched out at 8 so as to engage and seat on the end of the pipe 7. The fins also hold the pipe 8 concentric to the pipe 7. The fins are very thin so as to permit the free flow of the water during flushing. These pipes are arranged so as to form a siphon, and the pipe'8 becomes an intake pipe of the siphon, while the pipe 7 be These pipes are connected so that flushing water flowing throu h the pipe 8 will pass over into the pipe i. The upper end of the pipe 7 is adjacent the upper end of the pipe 8, and the pipe 8 has its open end near the bottom of the tank so that the flushing water in the tank will to a large degree be siphoned from the tank. The U pipe 5 rests on the bottom of the tank 1, and a support of cement 3 or other suitable material is placed under the T pipe 8. This makes a very 'durable support for the siphon and enables it to be readily inserted in a flushing tank without breaking into the structure of the tank to install the same.

Connected to the siphon is an air escape pipe 9, its upper end above the flushing height of the water. Said air escape pipe 9 extends down through the top of the hell or intake pipe 8 of the siphon, and the lower end 10 of this pipe terminates slightly below the upper end 11 of the pipe 7. Said pipe 9 is open at both its upper and lower ends.

Arranged preferably in the air escape pipe. but free therefrom, is a water inlet pipe 12. Said pipe 12 is considerably smaller in diameter than the inner diameter of said pipe 9 so that there is a free air space around the pipe 12 through which air may escape from the siphon. Water is supplied to the pipe 12 from a supply pipe 13 controlled by a suitable valve 14. In this pipe 12 is an air injection connection 15 which is provided with an opening 16 to the atmosphere and a jet pipe 17 extends slightly beyond said-opening to the atmosphere (see Fig. 5). As water passes through the jet, air will be drawn in through the opening 16 and entrained with the water and carried with the water into the siphon. This water inlet pipe is preferably bent laterally at its lower end, as indicated at 18, so that the air carried in with the water will pass into the upper part of the bell 8 rather than escape directly through the pipe 9.

A blow-oft pipe 19 is connected at 20 with the outlet pipe 7 and isconnected at 21 with the U-pipe l. Said connection 21 is made at the lower side of the U-shaped pipe to said connection extending up into the U-shaped pipe a slight distance above the water seal in the siphon. Assuming that the tank has just been flushed and the water has settled to normal condition, there will be a water seal in the siphon pipes 4, 5 and 7 to the line XX, and the blow-off pipe 19 also. This blow-oft pipe 19 has its outlet end extending slightly above this line XX.

As water with air entrained therein is delivered to the hell 8, the bell and flushing tank will be filled with water. WAS the tank and bell are filled with water, air in the bell escapes through the pipe 2 and the water level both in the bell and flushing tank will be the same and they will rise together until the line YY is reached, when the lower end of the pipe 9 will be closed. As the water continues to pass into the bell,

, it will rise slightly above the lower end end of the outlet pipe of the pipe 9 and the air in the upper end of the bell and the upper portion oi the pipe 7 being confined will force the water level in the bell down to the end of the pipe 9 and some of the air will escape through the pipe 9. The water still continues to rise in the tank Outside of the bell, but the level in the bell will be maintained at the lower end of the pipe 9 and air will continue to escape through this pipe 9.

When the water in the tank reaches the point Z-Z, then the water column from Y to Z is of the same height as the column of E water in the pipe 19, that is the column of water from the lower extreme invert point of the pipe 19 to the upper end of the outlet end 21. The pressure of the water, therefore, inthe flushing tank through the confined air' in the siphon operating upon the blow-off pipe to cause the air and water in the blow-off pipe to pass out through the outlet 21 and the air in the siphon will then follow out through the blow-oft pipe and the water will then rise in the hell 8 and flow over into the pipe 7 and the siphonic action will thus be started. The water will continue to flow from the flushing tank, flushing the-sewer, carrying all air out of the siphon until the level of the water reaches the lower end of the bell 8 so that air is drawn in underneath the lower end of the bell8 and the siphon broken.

During the passing of the water from the tank through the bell into the outlet pipe 7, the water is flowing against the air escape pipe 9 and in a direction opposed to said open end of the pipe. This effectively seals the pipe 9 and prevents air from entering through. said pipe 9 to break the siphon. As soon as the siphon is broken, then the water in the hell 8 will sink below the lower end of the pipe 9 and air will enter freely through the pipe 9so that the water in the flushing tank and in the bell 8 will find a common level which is slightly above the lower end of the hell 8. All the water in the pipe 7 will fall seeking its level in the bottom of the siphon, up to the line XX, revealing the siphon and the blow-off pipe 19.

It will be readily seen that by reshaping or bending the blow-off pipe 19, the column of water in the blowpfi pipe between the lower extreme point thereof and the upper 21 may be decreased and thus the height of the sustained column in the flushing tank varied. The end of the blow-oil pipe 19 extends slightly above the overflow point in the U-shaped pipe 4 so as to prevent water in the seal from rushing back into the blow-olf pipe and thus preventing the proper starting of the siphon. Attention is called to the fact that the water seal in the main siphon is deeper vertically than the seal in the pipe 19, and this provents the entrapped air from escaping through the siphon pipes '7, 5 and 4, (see Fig. 1).

It will be understood, of course, that during the flushing action and immediately atter, water will pass into the blow-cit pipe and seal the same for the next'siphonic a tion of the flushing apparatus. i-ittention is called particularly to the fact that the pipes 4,5,7 and 8 are all located above the lower or bottom side of-the-sewer pipe 2 and above the bottom of the flushing tank 1. Therefore, my improved siphonic flushing apparatus may be readily substituted the ordinary manually controlled flushing devices now in existence and without chang ing the construction of the flushing tank.

In Fig. 3 I have shown av slightly modified form of flushing apparatus in that the in" take pipe of the siphon, instead of being in the form of a bell surrounding the outlet pipe to the siphon, is located at one side thereof. In said figure, the sewer pipe is indicated at 2, and said pipe is provided with a T-pipe connection 3, a U-pipe 4 and a U-pipe 5 which are connected to the upright outlet pipe 7. Said outlet pipe 7 at its upper end is provided with a U-pipe 22 which supports an intake pipe 23. It will be noted that these pipes are arranged in rectangular form, as viewed from above. In other words, the pipe 4 lies substantially at right angles to the center of the sewer pipe 2, the pipe 5 is in a plane at right angles to the planeof the pipe 4, and the pipe 22 is in a plane at right angles to the pipe 5 and also in a plane substantially parallel with the plane of the pipe 4. The lower end 24 of the pipe 23 is slightly above the sewer pipe 2 so that the cover 6 may be readily removed so as to give access to the sewer pipe. The U-pipe 5 rests on the bottom of the tank, while a support 3* is built up for the T-pipe 3, as above described-in connection with the form of apparatus shown in Fig. 1. I also provide a standard 2S which is attached to the endof the pipe 23 and rests on the bottom of the tank. This forms a very durable support for the, entire siphon and permits its ready installation without in any way disturbing the structure of the tank.

An air. escape pipe 25 is connected to the U-pipe 22 at the lower portion thereof.

Said air escape pipe extends downwardly from sa d U-pipe' 22 av slight distance. Water with air entrained therein is delivered to the siphon through the pipe-26 which is in construction similar to the pipe 12 and the lower part thereof only has been shown. It will be noted that the water inlet pipe is separated from the air escape pipe in this form of the invention, and as a matter of fact it may be made separate from. the air escape pipe in the bell type of siphon shown ii. Fig. 1. I have shown it passing through ihe air pipe 9 merely for tie sake of convenience; its arrangement in the an escape pipe has no function.

'l he operation of the siphoning apparatus shown in Fig. 8 is the same as that shown in Fig. l, except for the fact that the air escape pipe is closed by the water in the flushing tank outside of the siphon. Air escapes freely from the siphon until the water lift-he flushing tank reaches the level X-X, when the end of the air escape pipe is covered. The air in the siphon is now confined. iii and water continue to pass into the siphon. and as the air pressure increases the air will be forced out through the air es- -ape pipe and the water level in the intake pipe 23 of the siphon will be maintained substantially on the line X X, that is, on a line containing the end of the air escape pipe. The air bubbles up through the accumulating water in the flushing tank and escapes. When the column in the flushing tank reaches a sufficient height so as to overcome the column of water in the blow-off pipe, then the air will be forced through the blow-off pipe and will escape from the siphon and the siphonic action will start.

While I have shown my improved siphoning apparatus as made up of pipe sections and so described my preferred form of struclure, it will be understood that these pipes may be cast in longer sections. It will also be. understood that the pipe sections may be set at any desired angle to each other, as viewed from above, so as to best adapt themselves to the shaping of the tank in which they are placed. So far as the feature of placing the siphon in a tank without breaking into its structure is concerned, it will be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the delivering of the water with entrained air into the bell or siphon directly. It may be otherwise supplied to the tank and, if delivered outside of the siphon, of course no air need be entrained therein, the pipe 9, Fig. 1, being lengthened downwardly far enough to entrap enough air after each flush, likewise the pipe 25, Fig. 3.

It is obvious that other changes in the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be made than those shown in the drawings without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new, is

1. The combination of a flush tank, a

liquid conductor thereinto, a sewer pipe extending into said tank, and an automatic siphoning apparatus located wholly within said tank and connected to said sewer pipe for periodically discharging the flushing water in said tank into said sewer, said siphoning apparatus including pipes located laterally at an angle to the longitudinal center of the sewer pipe and arranged so as to permit free access to said sewer pipe.

A flushing apparatus including in combination, a tank, a sewer pipe extending into the tank, a T-pipe on the end of the sewer pipe, a U-pipe connected to the T-pipe and extending at an angle to the sewer pipe, a second U-pipe connected to the last-named U-pipe and arranged to form a water seal, a siphon having an outlet pipe connected to the. U pipe forming the water seal, an intake hell surrounding the outlet pipe and closed at its upper end, an air pipe extending from above the high water line through the upper end of the bell and down into said bell to a point below the upper end of the outlet pipe, a water inlet pipe extending down through the air pipe but spaced from the side walls thereof so as not to prevent the air from freely passing through the air pipe.

A flushing apparatus including in combination, a tank, a sewer pipe extending into the tank, a T-pipe on the end of the sewer pipe having a removable closure to give ready access to the sewer, a U-pipe connected to the T-pipe and extending at an angle to the sewer pipe, a second U-pipe connected to the last-named U-pipe and arranged to form a water seal, a siphon having an outlet pipe connected to the U-pipe forming the water seal, an intake bell surrounding the outlet pipe and closed at its upper end, an air pipe extending from above the high water line down through the upper end of the bell and down into said bell to a point below the upper end of the outlet pipe, a water inlet pipe extending down through the air pipe but spaced from the side walls thereof so as to permit the air to freely pass through the air pipe, a blow-off pipe connected with the outlet pipe adjacent the upper end of the U-shaped sealing pipe and connected with the U-shaped pipe leading from the sealing pipe to the sewer at the overflow point thereof, said blow-off pipe extending into said U-shaped pipe to a slight distance above the lower surface thereof.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature.

HARMON DE LEON MOISE. 

